Ghosts from the past
by Dorka
Summary: Bill learns about something from Sauls and Lauras past
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ghosts from the past

Chapter: ONE

Spoiler: there might be some mention of episodes of S3

Authors Note: BIG thanks to **ANGI **my beta-reader **Huggles**

Bill heard Lauras voice even before he stepped into the waiting room of the colonial one. She was talking in a louder voice then usual. _She must be really upset at someone_- he thought, and sat down at one of the chairs. He didn't wanted to hark, but even without intention he was forced, and when he recognized the mans voice his attention was fully on their words.

"I'm not allowing you to accuse me, Colonel Tigh!" she said punctuating his name.

"I'm not accusing you! I'm only pointing the things out! Leave the admiral alone! Stop flirting with him!"

"Even if I WAS flirting with him! It's NONE of your business COLONEL!"

Bills eyes widened. He would've never thought of a discussion like this between his two best friends. He already wanted to step into the room to stop this mess, when Saul continued.

"Ohhhhhhh YES it IS! He's acting strange, he's moody, changing from melancholic to too happy, to angry. His mood changes after every time he sees you! Of course it's MY business!"

"I won't discuss this with you any longer!"

"Ohhhh yes you WILL!"

"You think only because I spent one night in your bed it gives you the right?"

"You didn't only just SPEND the night in my bed Laura! Additionally you were betraying that boyfriend of yours who was a married man with children, additionally your boss and additionally the president of the twelve colonies! You're a promiscous women and I won't let Bill come near you!"

That left Laura speachless. She sank back in her chair and burried her head into her palm.

_FLASHBACK – 5 years ago_

_Laura was exhausted. Exhausted from everything in her whole life. She never wanted to go into politics, all she wanted was having children around her. Helping them to grow up, find their place in the world. After a car accident where her parents and her brother died when she was 18, she suffered heavy injuries wich involved her not being able to get pregnant. That's why she decided to become a school teacher. She loved children and it nearly broke her heart that she'd never be able to feel motherhood - as a teacher it was bearable. _

_But she haven't planned that a certain Richard Adar would cross her way only a few years later. He had charisma, was a real gentleman, was doing everything to get her attention...but he also was a married man. At the beginning she did mind that fact very much, but with time she learned that with a married man, who already had children at least she wouldn't disappoint any other man, because she wasn't able to have them. He was a safe-match. Richard was the one who saw the skill in her to step into politics as well, although she was a calm person he always told her that he knew she had the guts to be in the business. All went very fast, Richard became President a decade later and before she realised she was "secretary of education". With Richards presidency also came the problems. He was standing in the public more and they had to be more careful. Not only that, but the President also hardened during this time. He was fixed on his work and success and lost everything Laura used to love about him. One day they went into a big fight over a few days off they planned, after two years they finally wanted to spend more then 10 hours in a row together. Of course Richard called it off because he told her they couldn't have this luxus anymore. _

_Laura was so angry that she went out into the night and dropped by the first bar she could find and ordered one drink after the other. _

_After a while a man sat down beside her and started doing exactly the same._

"_Lady, you shouldn't drink so much!"_

"_You know, that's none of your business mister!" He shrugged and poured down his drink._

_A few minutes passed. She was the total oppsite of his wife. Dark hair, green eyes and a whole different charisma. That's exactly what he needed. He knew he was drunk and that he maybe even would regret it on the other morning but his wife was frakking around in whole caprica city, he wanted to hurt her the same way she did._

"_What's your name?"_

"_L" She wasn't drunk enough yet to risk her political career to get to any sign of who she was."...Leticia"_

"_Niiiiiiiiceeee" he chuckled "So what's your reason for drinking?"_

"_As I said, none of your business"_

"_Youuuu knowww, it helps to talk!" she could hear he was already pretty drunk at his way of speaking._

_She threw down an other drink. After the 5th she stopped counting._

"_My married boooyy...boyfriend made clear I'm not more then a usual whore to him anymore!"_

"_Ohhhhkaaayyy, thaaat's hard" _

_An other while before Laura started to speak again._

"_And what's your story...uh"_

"_...Saul" he completed._

"_What's your ssshtory Saul?"_

_Major Saul Tigh decided not to tell her that he was a married man as well and searching for a target to betray his wife as a revenge. He knew he wouldn't reach his goal then._

"_I've got fired at work!"_

"_I see" Laura stared bored at her glass._

_He had to be more offensive._

"_You know, this boyfriend of yours must be a real moron! A beautiful women like you should be only the bed-companion. You should be the prinssssseessss of a man!" The alcohol left it's marks he was exagerating without even noticing. _

_But it didn't play a role, because Laura didn't recognize that fact anymore as well. The alcohol was sending a warm feeling through her body. So the only thing she said was._

"_Would you make me your prisshhhess????"_

_With that she stood, and stumbled as soon as her feet reached the floor. Saul who was much more trained on walking straight with this amount of drinks he was on his feet as well, just to feel her fall directly into his arms. They exchanged long gazes before he leaned down to kiss her._

"_Of coursssssse I would!"_

_With that the two of them left the bar._

_The next morning the first thing Laura noticed was her head. She couldn't remember ever having such a headache. Her mind became clearer and she noticed something warm lying beside her. Abruptly she opened her eyes and found herself lying nakedly curled up to a total stranger._

"_Please, noooo" She sat up as fast as her headaches allowed and pulled up the sheet in front of her. To her movement the stranger opened his eyes as well._

"_Good morning princess!" He said sleepy but with a sarcastic undertone._

"_Princess???? Who the frak are you!"_

_As soon as she pronounced the word "princess" she remembered everything that happened. It was all cloudy, but she remembered the bar, and also what happened afterward. Laura Roslin the "secretary of education" got drunk in a small dark bar and had a one-night-stand with a total stranger who additionally called her princess._

_She got up taking the cover with her trying to collect her clothes in the hotel room._

"_Let's just forget about all of this!"_

"_Well it will be hard to forget. My wife would be all jealous if she knew your certain skills, babe!"_

_WIFE??? he was married. Laura was close to a total breakdown. She carefully tried to put on her political mask as usual. But deep down she was cursing herself. She was the "other women" again. She closed her eyes let out a heavy sigh and started to dress as fast as she could. When she collected everything she had to fight the urge to run to the door, flee from the situation._

"_Have a nice life Saul" She managed to say before the door slammed shut behind her._

END OF FLASHBACK – Colonial One

Bill first wasn't sure if he really heard correctly. _'It can't be!'_- he thought. He was so shocked he barely noticed that he rose from the seat and stepped through the courtain into the office. Saul was standing with the back to him and Laura was still staring at her desk.

"It was a terrible mistake, I was desperate that day, and you didn't tell me you were married either...BILL!" while speaking she rose her head.

Saul didn't realised that Bill had shown up behind him.

"Yeah, I know I didn't tell you, but that makes no difference! And leave Bill out of this story! I thought we agreed silently not to bring it up EVER, especially not in front of him!"

"SAUL!" this time it was Bill calling his name. The XO jerked at his voice and then slowly turned around.

"Bill...I'm...I don't know...How...where...!"

The Admiral still couldn't believe what he had just experienced. He had to get out of the whole situation. He turned on his heels and left the room. Without any further thinking Saul followed him, leaving Laura back alone in the room. And that's exactly how she felt now. ALONE, same way she felt the other night 5 years ago. She burried her face on her limp hands on her desk and closed her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

TBC if you like


	2. Chapter 2

"Bill wait!" The XO stepped into the raptor just before the door closed behind them. "We need to talk about this!"

"Not now, Saul." The Admiral felt a headache coming.

"Now is the perfect time. I don't want this to stand between us. We need to work together, remember!"

Bill sighed and sat down, burying his face in his hands just as Laura had done a few minutes ago.

"The whole thing isn't just about you, and keeping it behind YOUR back. It's something we both, Laura and I, aren't proud of. We wanted to just forget it. And we've managed until now." He waited for a reaction from Bill but when he remained silent he decided to continue. "Bill this women has gotten under your skin. She's the President and you are the Admiral for frak's sake. You have to keep a professional distance. She wasn't able to do that with her precious President either. That's why she slept with me, she told me before. I only figured out who she was a few weeks later, and then I put two and two together to figure out it was Adar! "

Bill didn't react for what seemed like forever to Saul. He seemed to think things over very hard.

He didn't want to deal with all of this now. "You mind passing by in my quarters for a drink later?"

The Colonel was very surprised _That's it?_ _No anger, not outburst? _"Suuure, I'll drop by after I get some reports in the CIC!"

Bill nodded slightly and the rest of the flight was spent in silence.

_24 hours later in the CIC_

William Adama couldn't remember when he had last felt as mentally exhausted as this. He didn't know what to do. He already forgave Saul for not telling him. Although the fact that his best friend most probably kissed the women he realised since New Caprica that he was in love with, more times then he did, gave him a great deal of to think of. He tried to erase the picture of them lying naked in a bed from his mind but couldn't. He couldn't keep his eyes shut all night. He was terribly tired, morose, not the best company at all. When he thought his problems were already too big, he spotted a very familiar red colour in the corner of his eyes.

"Admiral...may I have a word with you in private?" Laura's voice had its usual presidential tone in it, so he still had some hope that she only wanted to talk to him about food or medication supplies. But when he turned around and looked into her eyes he knew that he would have the conversation with her he didn't feel ready for just yet.

He stepped to his XO and patted his shoulder "You have the CIC!"

This little gesture wasn't missed by Laura, and suddenly she grew hopeful. If he forgave Saul, maybe then he could forgive her as well.

When the hatch of his quarters closed and the silence fell over them she wasn't so sure anymore. His face showed no other expression but darkness before he turned his back to her and poured a glass of water.

"Bill, I'm sorry...WE are..."

"Stop Laura! I don't want to hear it!"

She didn't know what else to say. He usually always let her speak her mind, even if he didn't agree, but since the Hera incident that seemed to have changed as well. She waited until he turned around again and her stomach knotted when she saw his face.

"I can't Laura! There's no point in it anymore!"

"What do you mean, _there is no point_?" she whispered.

"There are too many things between us!"

"You forgave Tigh."

Bill sat down on his sofa slowly staring at his glass.

"Yes I did, but it's something different!"

"I'm not sure it is, I mean we are both friends. At least I thought we were!" Laura couldn't hide her surprise.

"You don't trust me! I don't think we can be friends if you don't trust me."

"I DO trust you Bill! I'd trust you with the life of every single person left of the human race, including my own."

"No Laura!" now he was looking at her. She noticed that his eyes had lost their light. "You don't trust me. You didn't tell me that you were ill. You DID tell Kara that Earth was only something to keep everyone fighting and I only made it up. You didn't tell me about the whole thing when it was about the prophecy. You left..." he was close to finishing that sentence with _me_. "You didn't tell me about Hera. For over a year you didn't tell me that you could remember this Caprica-Six woman from before the attacks. And you didn't tell me that you and Saul already knew each other; and even if it's none of my business, as friends and also as leaders I thought that you'd have the courage to tell me that you had an affair with the former president!"

Laura felt tears filling in her eyes, although she was determined not to cry in front of him, over the fact that he seemed to have already given up on them.

"It's just too much, and I fear I'll never be able to trust you with my full heart anymore. I would have given you my heart, Laura. Actually you've had it for long time, but of course in our positions we weren't allowed to go further. But I always thought that if we reached Earth, or some other place where there aren't any cylons..."

The proud President of the Twelve Colonies took in a sharp breath at his statement. This was his way of telling her that he loved her, and that she screwed up. She realized it wasn't even this business with Saul anymore, but all the things he listed before. She wished she'd have a pencil, but actually not even a million pencils could help her. _'I would have given you my heart', _his words were echoing in her mind.

Bill noticed that she was drifting

"I want as much as possible handled either through Gaeta, Saul or Helo in the future. I think we could use some distance." His gaze wandered to his glass again. "_I_could use some distance!" he added in a whisper.

Laura wanted to list all the things he had done to her, like he had listed what he thought she had done to him, but for the first time the words failed to come out of her mouth. She knew she would regret it later but all she could say was

"As you wish Admiral" before she left the quarters, walking faster than usual.

tbc


End file.
